Household waste duty of care

Authorised persons

The Environmental Protection Act means that you must make sure that waste produced on your property is only dealt with by an 'authorised person'. 

An authorised person includes:

• The local authority that provides your regular waste collection service
• Someone with a valid registration as a carrier, broker, or dealer of waste
• An operator of a waste site with the appropriate environmental permit or registered exemption

A waste carrier taking waste from customers must have a registration number, which starts with 'CBDU' followed by a set of numbers.

Reasonable measures

Failing to take all reasonable measures to meet your duty of care is a criminal offence. You could be prosecuted in court and face an unlimited fine. Reasonable measures include:

• Asking if the person or company taking the waste is a registered carrier
• Asking to see their registration certificate (do not accept photocopies)
• Making a note of the registration number
• Noting the name of the collector and details of the vehicle used
• Asking for a receipt with all the business details on it
• Checking their details online at the Environment Agency's website, or by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 50 65 06 

If you are taking your own household waste to get rid of, you can use the Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs). You can check what waste they accept here.

If you take your waste to a private business, you must:

• Make sure they have a permit or exemption from the Environment Agency
• Write down the site's permit or exemption number, or take a photo of it

Do not leave waste or scrap metal on the street, on or near your property. Failing to meet your duty of care could result in a court prosecution and a fine.

Waste from home improvements

If a business creates waste in your home or garden, the person doing the work must dispose of the waste, including moving and getting rid of it. If you later need to get rid of the waste yourself, you must make sure it goes to an authorised person.

If you are employing a tradesperson to work on your property, you should check:

• That the tradesperson will dispose of the waste generated
• That they are registered to transport the waste
• If someone else takes the waste that they are authorised to do so.

The tradesperson must by law exchange a waste transfer note with the carrier.

The Household Waste and Recycling Centres cannot accept waste produced by tradespersons.

Fixed Penalty Notices

You may be given a fixed penalty notice (FPN) if you breach this duty of care. 

• The fixed penalty notice is up to £250
• if you pay within 14 days you will not be prosecuted for the offence.

If you think the FPN is incorrect you can provide evidence to the Council to show you met your duty of care, and to identify the person who took your waste. The details on how to appeal are on the fixed penalty notice.

FPN Reporting

We are required to report on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for the household waste duty of care offence. Full records since January 2019 are available here.